Note to self, buy a zipper foot

December 18, 2016January 14, 2017 stitchesoftime1 Comment

Hello there, the final countdown of Christmas crafting has begun, only 6 more days until we leave for Ellie’s. I have not been well this past week, have finally caught Jake’s horrible chest infection and have been confined to barracks but that answered the question about whether to buy or make the last few presents as I have not been able to go shopping.

Luckily I have lots of stash and lots of ideas and tutorials – thanks Pinterest 🙂 and I set about yesterday to make a pencil case pouch for one of my younger relatives.

zipper-pouch-1

I had made the little hexagons out of the cute cat fabric scraps I got from Simply Solids some time ago and used some of my recycled denim and stash fabric for the body of the pouch and have had lots of these cute lacy zips also hanging about.The hexagon was appliqued onto the denim with zig zag stitch.

The only thing I didn’t have was a zipper foot, naively I assumed they came with the machine but after careful checking of all three sets of feet from current and old machines discovered that is not true.

However I did manage to find a foot that only had a metal piece on one side, no idea what it is really for but have managed to cobble it together and it all turned out very well for a first attempt.

I used this tutorial here from Emkie Designs which was very easy to follow. The only thing that I did differently was stitch wadding to the lining pieces to give it a bit more body.

Have also been hard at work with the last of the Christmas ornaments, some bigger versions of the folded one with the addition of Suffolk Puffs, partly because I love them and partly because I have run out of ribbon roses!

I also made another cathedral window one but not sure about it, maybe it is the lack of contrast between the two patterned fabrics, maybe I am just not that into Scandi colours. It also turned out rectangular for some reason.I do like the wooden button though.

These are some I made a while ago, English paper pieced and stuffed, I really like the look of these but they took a very long time so not a bulk make ornament.

patchwork-xmas-stars-1

Just the Suffolk Puff tree to finish now and that will be it for ornaments 2016 though at the speed I was getting them done this year might start in Jan for next year!

However did find a very lovely post with links to tutorials for 100 different pouches so might have to make some more of those for gifts… after I have got a zipper foot of course!

free-zipper-bag-patterns

Take care and thanks for visiting, will pop in later on in the week to wish you all festive greetings.

A little light entertainment

December 12, 2016 stitchesoftime1 Comment

Hello everyone ,hope you are all having a good time. I have had a very excellent weekend, have finally put up the Christmas decorations, been out to see a friend’s very good band play and spent all of Sunday binge watching a new and very exciting series on Netflix while finishing my Suffolk Puff wreath.

I came across this series by accident just from a mention in the newspaper we get free on the bus and am so glad I did as it has been very good. It is called Medici-Masters of Florence and is full of the most gorgeous period costume and lots of very tense drama.

medici-costume-1

I do love a man in period costume, they just look so wonderful and the women’s costume was amazingly beautiful. Sadly could not find many pictures so you will just have to watch it yourselves.

medici-costume-2

Watching it has been made all the more special by the fact that Mum and I visited Florence a couple of years ago so have seen lots of the paintings, buildings and art of the time. It brought back very happy memories and the way that Florence is portrayed in the series is very good, such beautiful scenery.

All this lovely entertainment made light work of finishing the wreath, which I am very pleased with.I bought the metal ring frame from Harrogate and covered it in red felt and ribbon before sewing the puffs to it. I have used up nearly all of my ribbon roses doing this so will have to order some more.

xmas-suffolk-puff-wreath-1

I am now making more puffs in an attempt to make a Suffolk Puff Christmas tree, I do still have a couple more ornaments to make at the weekend but this is nice evening in front of the telly creating.

Hope you have a lovely week ahead, this is the last week of term for me so am looking forward to Friday after which I will not have to get up quite so early, not a fan of going out and coming home in the dark!

Take care and thanks for visiting.

Christmas is coming!

December 8, 2016December 11, 2016 stitchesoftime3 Comments

Hello everyone

In all the excitement about getting my ornaments done and general busyness I forgot to post about my blogaversary which was actually on the 4th Dec.

I have been busy with Suffolk puffs this week making myself a little wreath from them with a ring I bought from Harrogate. I do love Suffolk puffs, they are so easy to make and look so pretty, here’s more inspiration for me for future makes.I love that pale wreath.

Anyway as is traditional now I am going to do a giveaway for some Xmas ornaments, but I am going to vary it a little. I have been thrilled that so many people have chosen to follow my blog, now have 183 followers which is fantastic, so thank you everyone, I am very honored 🙂

Therefore I have decided to do a random number giveaway to one of my lovely followers, if you are not already a follower and want to join in then please do so and I will choose one of you on Weds 14th Dec by the miracles of the random number generator to send some ornaments to.

Take care and thanks for visiting and see you again soon.

Fabulous folding

December 1, 2016 stitchesoftime1 Comment

Hello everyone, how are your Christmas crafting preparations going? Mine have got back up to speed thankfully with a couple of intensive sewing sessions over the last two weekends and I now have the majority of my ornaments made, just in time for the 1st of Dec!

I have made a cathedral window ornament and am very pleased with it. I would have two to show you but the second one is still a work in progress as it was so thick once I had finished folding that it jammed the machine three times then broke the needle so I am hand sewing it.

The first one I made turned out very well. I used this tutorial from Moda Bakeshop , it does use up a lot of fabric, but then I do have a lot of Xmas fabric 😉 and found it very easy to follow.

I also looked for some quicker ornament designs for presents and came across this lovely one which I remembered seeing a while ago. There is a very clear step by step video tutorial here by Crouton Crackerjacks and they are very simple to make.

folded-ornaments-1

I stuffed mine with wadding which I did by making a little slit in the back which is why I have a ribbon rose at the back as well as on the front to cover that up.

folded-ornaments-6

I already had some of the ribbon flowers in my stash but ordered some more from this Ebay seller.She has some gorgeous pastel coloured ones as well.

We had a lovely time at Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show, Ellie, Kerry and I were very restrained, I only bought 1 metre of Christmas fabric, some of which I have already used on some more folded ornaments, a few Christmas ribbons and some very cute buttons.

I also bought some little wooden bobbins to cover with fabric. I am going to make some glass jar sewing sets complete with pincushion tops for Sarah’s stall for next September at Yarndale, (planning ahead!), and am collecting jars to do that. Some will be jam and pickle jars but I have also bought these from the wonderful Chinese shop in Spain.They have all sorts of cute storage for less than a Euro apiece.

bobbin-jar

However these look so good on my shelf in the craft room they might have to stay, the other one is full of my ribbons with sewing themes.

I am off to stay with Ellie this weekend as we have our re-enactment group meeting on Sunday so we are going to go and visit a few Christmas themed events while we are in Worksop. She has promised me a visit to a Christmas tree festival at Worksop Priory and a visit to Hardwick Hall where she used to work to see the decorations there. So I will come home all festive ready to finish off the last few of mine.

I have the next two weekends at home after that so will be decorating my house then having some quality stitching time on the sofa with lots of TV and cups of tea to keep me going.it has been such a busy term and I am so glad things are calming down, my poor sewing room has been sadly neglected!

I hope that you have a very nice weekend and I will see you soon for another post, there may just be more pictures of ornaments! Take care and thanks for visiting.

Christmas Creativity

December 14, 2015 stitchesoftime3 Comments

Well that was a lovely weekend, my last one of sitting making ornaments for a while, not that the fact that it is nearly Christmas will stop me as I often make them into January ready for next year.

It is hard to stop when I am on a roll and I love just sitting in the craft room surrounded by all of my boxes of fabric, ribbons and beads deciding what would look good together.

These very cute bells are some I ordered from an Ebay seller, Rinoohead, earlier in the year and look very nice pinned onto baubles.

Next weekend we have family here celebrating Christmas a bit early then we are off to Oslo and when we come back from there I am off to Spain for New Year.

I am really looking forward to three weeks holiday and lots time with my lovely family 🙂

I will leave you with a couple of pictures of the collection of quilted baubles that I have made for my friends, I will be giving these away this week when we have our pre-Christmas catch-up.

Tutorial for these is here if you fancy any last minute festive makes, they are quick to do and very relaxing.

I hope that you all have a lovely Christmas and New Year, thanks so much for visiting my blog and for all your kind comments and likes. Best wishes for the festive season and I will see you all in 2016!

Exploding lightbulbs and other excitements

December 4, 2015December 12, 2015 stitchesoftime4 Comments

Hello everyone

This week it is my 8th blogaversary and this is also my 500th post – how exciting 🙂

I was going to post this a little earlier in the evening but was distracted by an incident where I went into the kitchen to fetch more wine, turned on the lights and there was a very loud bang accompanied by a shower of glass.

Turned out that a lightbulb had exploded, taking with it the glass surround on that part of the light fitting. So a little bit of a clean up ensued and I will remove the remains of bulb and fitting in daylight tomorrow.

Anyway more of the real excitement, 8 years of lovely blog activity and 500 posts, mainly about my fabric fettlings so I am celebrating in traditional style with a giveaway.

This will be not only for some ornaments maybe something like the ones in the picture below but also since it is a double celebration some Christmas fabric as well, maybe even some of the lovely Makower stash.

To enter just like this post. I will close the giveaway next Friday the 11th to give time to put the winning gifts in the post.

I will return later on with an update on the latest batch of ornament finishes, meanwhile stay safe and avoid home accidents! Thanks for visiting.

Homemade with Heartstrings – Christmas Decorations

November 11, 2015November 9, 2015 stitchesoftime7 Comments

Hello again

I was reading Jenny’s blog again recently and was reminded that I wanted to give you all some more ideas for homemade gifts.

As you know I am a bit of a fan of Christmas fabrics and Christmas ornaments 🙂 and I think there is nothing nicer than a handmade ornament as a gift.

Years ago I used to cross stitch Christmas cards, pre blog so no pictures sadly, and loved doing it. However cards only tend to be used once then put away.

I got the idea for ornaments when my Mum started putting all the old cards out year after year so I thought why don’t I make hanging ornaments instead then they can be re-used.

So here are a selection of patterns and tutorials for your Christmas gifts, some by me others that I have found and love.

I now make at least 15 keepsake ornaments every year and they have become something that people always look forward to getting, it is lovely to go to friends’ houses and see things on their trees that I made years ago that even I have forgotten about.

Quilted Ball Ornaments

These are my 2015 special gifts for my friends from toddler group – 23 years of friendship and still going strong with sons and daughters now all in their 20s!

There is a great step-by-step tutorial here and despite the fact that they look difficult they really aren’t. Great for relaxing in front of the TV as it is very therapeutic and you don’t need any sewing skills. Fabric is pinned onto a polystyrene bauble.

Christmas Stockings

These are ultimate cuteness and come from the lovely Julie of Little Cotton Rabbits. I would say medium level knitting skills and the instructions are brilliant. They are knitted flat and are very quick to do.

Suffolk Puff Bauble

Again a great way to relax and you can embellish this with buttons, charms, pins etc as you wish. The base is a polystyrene bauble as with the quilted bauble.Detailed tutorial is here.

Hexagon Ornaments

This is one of my designs combining my love of English Paper Piecing and Christmas fabric, I love adding charms and buttons to these.Tutorial on how to make them is here.

Cute embroidered hoops for children

I just had to share this one with you, no detailed instructions for this version but they look easy enough to follow from these pictures. There are some wonderful things in this 25 ideas booklet from 36th Avenue blog including these amazing cupcakes!

Crazy Patchwork Trees and Hearts

I love using up all my scraps so have made some crazy patchwork ornaments over the years, here are some examples of little trees and padded hearts and a step by step tutorial for making the patchwork tree here.

If you want to make the hearts just make a bigger patchwork sheet as below and cut hearts out from it.

Star Pentagon Ornaments

I have not made these yet but they look beautiful and very simple to do. This Create 4 Fun site contains downloadable PDFs for this and other ornaments.

Small Cross Stitch motifs

This free pattern is for a game but I think they would make lovely ornaments stitched and surrounded by pretty Christmas fabrics.

There are lots more links to free cross stitch patterns at this site with a good selection for children’s ornaments.

Redwork Sampler

What could be more festive than redwork? This free sampler pattern from Bronwyn Hayes at Red Brolley is so lovely and could easily be used for smaller ornaments. There are more redwork Christmas freebies at that site as well.

Happy Christmas ornament making, take care and see you soon. Thanks for visiting.

It’s not more fabric it’s an investment in my retirement fund

October 24, 2015October 24, 2015 stitchesoftime2 Comments

Hello there, hope that you are all well and happy and are doing something nice.

I am looking forward to a wonderful weekend of sewing, I have just finished up two more Christmas ornaments and have a present to finish later and then just may have a play with the latest addition to my retirement fund.

I saw three ladies at the Birmingham Festival of Quilts who had brilliant t-shirts on with the logo, ‘I have a retirement plan, I plan to quilt’. I always tell the kids that one of the reasons I buy fabric now is so that I will have enough when I am living on my pension, well it won’t go off will it?

I would not have bought this were it not for my friend Debbie who came to knitting with this lovely and incredibly cheap fabric from our local haberdashers, only £2.20 a metre, you just have to buy some at that price!

Then there was this that was a little bit more expensive, (so I only bought 1/4 metre lengths of this), the latest Makower print.

It is going to be the best sort of weekend as it is followed by half term, (yippee 🙂 🙂 !) I am not off anywhere as I saw all the family last weekend but am working from home for most of it that so that means late starts and early finishes and lots of time for nice cooking and crafting.

I am very much in soup mode at the moment as I have had a horrible cough and cold and not felt like eating much else so have purchased the pumpkin for the annual soup!

Sadly it is raining which means that I won’t be going out, but more excuse to stay on the sofa, under the fleece and sew – what a lovely life.

Here are the Christmas ornaments that I finished yesterday, another one of Jenny of Elefantz’s wonderful designs, this is an adaptation of one of the designs in the Nov Stitchery Club set.

I altered the little flag to say Merry Christmas and am very pleased how neat the little letters have come out, Jenny’s designs are great for practising neat stitches. Just ignore those bits that aren’t so neat at the bottom of the bird 😉

The little brass charm is from Stitch Direct.

I think these would look great in redwork stitching with that Makower snowflake fabric above so that might have to be my next set.

I have also treated myself to this book, it has been on my Amazon wishlist for a long time and once I have finished all the outstanding block of the month challenges, which I am hoping to do this week, I will be making a couple of runners for my house.

I have taken the decision not to do any craft fairs this year, what with making stuff for Sarah’s Yarndale stall and the wedding outfit and the possible trip to China with work that sadly did not happen, I felt that I would be too rushed so all my Christmas crafting this year will be for me!

I have already made most of the gift ornaments, that’s what you get for starting in July lol.

Have a very lovely weekend, thanks for visiting and see you all soon.

I am very, ‘Made Up’

September 10, 2015September 10, 2015 stitchesoftime1 Comment

Hello everyone

Today is the final day of Karen’s Made Up fund raising challenge, there is still time to donate if you haven’t done through the Just Giving page. The initiative has raised over £2500 – way more than the initial £1000 hoped for so that is brilliant, well done Karen!

I am also very excited to tell you that I won a giveaway on her blog for a limited edition Made Up tote bag which arrived this weekend 🙂

Thank you Karen, it is lovely and I always need lots of sewing bags to carry things to and from groups.

I have finished the ornament that I said I would make, the design is adapted from Jenny of Elefantz August Stitchery Club design, I just used the central bird motif, added beads and star sequins and the word Noel.

I put it together with two layers of thin wadding, on the rear just quilted across the ornament and on the front hand quilted. I added some little hanging corners using Jenny’s tutorial and a bamboo skewer to keep it in shape.

The white fabric I stitched on also has little leaves on it. The holly fabric is some of the new stash from the Festival of Quilts. I have lots of different holly fabrics and love them!

I do love the little holly buttons, I have been using these for a few years in my ornaments, you can get them from several sources including here on Ebay.

I have got the ornament hanging on my door at the moment and am seriously tempted to leave it there it looks so cute, it’s not too early to decorate for Christmas is it 😉

I am very pleased to have finished the pledge on time as lots of other finishes going on here, (and starts as I cut out the wedding jacket today eek!), am having a busy time finishing the things for Sarah for Yarndale as well.

Am also having serious technical difficulties as my mouse has stopped working, (I struggle with just the pad on the laptop), and I still can’t find my camera, which would not be so much of an issue if all the pictures on my phone did not keep turning themselves upside down!!

Am looking forward to getting everything done and then I am going to do lots and lots of other embroidery designs from my Jenny folder!

Take care and thanks for visiting.

More Christmas in July

July 19, 2015 stitchesoftime2 Comments

Hello, hope that you are all having a nice weekend, I am enjoying a weekend at home, catching up on a few household things and crafting of course 😉

Last year was the first time we had a little craft session to start ornaments early, a Christmas in July, and we had another one yesterday at Sharon’s house with tapas and delicious ice cream from the local ice cream parlour and café.

Apologies for some reason even the pictures are the right way round in my photo editing package they won’t display properly in here so are sideways on!

Emily and I made cones and I borrowed her idea of finishing mine with a ribbon and bead decoration I had in my stash.

Helen was busy making a hexagon snowflake using fabric from Simply Solids’ new Christmas fabric stock, this is going to be one of their sample items for the shop.

She especially wanted me to take a picture of her cute cat earrings, the body bit moves as if the cat is dancing!

I also finished another of the gorgeous quilted baubles, as I thought these have been very addictive, am having to ration myself and make sure I get on with other stuff as well.

I am busy finishing the linen pincushions for Sarah’s stall at Yarndale at the moment so hope to be able to post pictures of some completed ones later on in the week.

Enjoy whatever you are doing, take care and thanks for visiting.

Stitches of Time

I have created this blog to share my interest in all forms of stitching, quilting, sewing, knitting, medieval re-enactment and costume making – particularly my love of historical embroidery. I also love travelling,especially when it also involves any of my other interests.

Tag: xmas ornies

Note to self, buy a zipper foot

A little light entertainment

Christmas is coming!

Fabulous folding

Christmas Creativity

Exploding lightbulbs and other excitements

Homemade with Heartstrings – Christmas Decorations

It’s not more fabric it’s an investment in my retirement fund

I am very, ‘Made Up’

More Christmas in July